City celebrates National Breastfeeding Month with Aug. 11 event

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 26, 2017

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Dani Cagle - City of Dallas
dani.cagle@dallascityhall.com
(214) 670-7209

City celebrates National Breastfeeding Month with Aug. 11 event

Dallas – Hospitals across the state are putting moms first as the number of Texas Ten Step facilities and Baby Friendly hospitals in Texas increased by nine in the past year. The Texas Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) which helps fund and manage the Texas Ten Step program, is celebrating the growing efforts as part of National Breastfeeding Month. 

“Our moms want to breastfeed, and these hospitals are doing a better job at helping them succeed,” said City of Dallas Breastfeeding Coordinator Dani Cagle. “A total of 87 percent of Texas WIC moms now initiate breastfeeding, which is among the highest in the nation,” she said. Dallas has exceeded the state average, with 95 percent of WIC mothers initiating breastfeeding.

Dallas’ WIC clinics will celebrate National Breastfeeding Month on Friday August 11 at Community Baby Café, 8202 Spring Valley Road. Spanish presentation at 9 a.m. followed by English presentation at 10:30 a.m. Attendees can participate in a Health Fair with partners from the community providing information about services and breastfeeding support available through Dallas WIC and Baby Café.

 The medical community is partnering with WIC and supporting moms’ efforts to give their babies what’s best. Programs like the Texas Ten Step program and Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative focus on implementing evidence-based practices, proven to increase breastfeeding exclusivity and duration, and reduce racial and ethnic disparities.

 Breastfed babies have a lower risk of stomach problems, infections, and being hospitalized for pneumonia and meningitis. Breastfed babies also have lower risk of childhood leukemia as well as diabetes, obesity, and hypertension later in life.

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